BB&T to Close Va. Call Center, Transfer Workers

BB&T (BBT) will close a call center in Roanoke, Va., affecting about 140 employees.

The $176 billion-asset company will close the center in the summer of 2015, the Roanoke Times reported, citing a BB&T spokesman. BB&T will attempt to reassign all the workers to other positions within the company.

BB&T's cost-cutting move comes as other regional banks are clamping down on expenses, amid flat revenue growth. BB&T posted an efficiency ratio of 59.9%, as of Dec. 31, and the Winston-Salem, N.C., company has said it wants to improve that figure to the mid-50s by the end of this year.

Like other banks, BB&T is closing low-performing branches; it shuttered a total of 43 branch offices last year. It's also adding branches in other areas, including Texas.

Most of the employees at the call center work in "a client contact capacity," said Brian Davis, a BB&T spokesman.

"Our hope is that the long lead time will allow our associates more time to make better decisions regarding their employment," Davis said.

BB&T will offer severance and outplacement services to employees who are still working at the call center when it closes, he said.